“The long-awaited Coldplay concert at the OAKA Stadium will take place”

• February 10, 2024

Specifically, a team of stadium maintainers removed the first panels that needed to be replaced due to the wear and corrosion they had suffered over the years, and restoration work has already begun. The stadium will be ready on time for the twin concerts in June!

It is worth noting that 122,000 tickets have been sold for the two Coldplay concerts at OAKA (double sold out), with at least 40,000 of them being for visitors from abroad who have booked flights to travel to Greece from various countries, along with transportation to and from the hotel or apartment they booked, accommodations, other parallel activities, meals at renowned restaurants, etc.

But let’s start from the beginning…

How it all began:

It was last September when it became known that the OAKA was facing a problem with the Calatrava roof, due to inadequate maintenance. Years of neglect from both the Stadium Administration and the relevant Ministry resulted in the roof becoming dangerous, and it’s fortunate that we haven’t mourned any victims until today.

During the week, there were reports of the beginning of restoration work on the two arches of the roof, which slightly boosted hopes for the concerts of the world-famous band.

Now there is greater confidence and optimism that OAKA will be ready again in May for the scheduled Coldplay concerts.

The issue could have broader consequences for the domestic concert industry, as Greece was in danger of being (again) excluded from the international map of major music events, while it seemed clear that it had firmly entered the concert map after years of absence.

According to Coldplay’s specifications, their two concerts are expected to be “mega-productions,” and this is one of the reasons why their 122,000 tickets were sold out quickly, with one-third of the audience coming from abroad. Among the possible alternative venues, Terra Vibe in Malakasa could host the band’s production, but it does not have the necessary capacity, while the Kallimarmaro Stadium has roughly the opposite situation, as confirmed by a technical study by the organizers. Coldplay themselves are in a waiting position, but they show that they really want to come to Greece, one of the six countries that aggressively sought to host them.

Perhaps it was the biggest concern in view of the festival summer: whether Coldplay’s two concerts would take place or if one, probably unique, opportunity to visit Greece and be a chance for many to combine Coldplay with… hot plays in Athens would be lost. Until a few weeks ago, the possibility that the concerts would not take place gathered more probabilities, judging from the announcement made by the organizing authority (High Priority Promotion) and the Panhellenic Association of Cultural Event Organizers.

Consequences of cancellation:

The possible cancellation of Coldplay’s two concerts in Athens, on June 8 and 9 at the central OAKA stadium, would be a serious problem because out of the 122,000 tickets pre-sold within two days, one-third involves arrivals of spectators from abroad and the wider Greek region, which was expected to affect the occupancy of hotels in Athens.

It is indicative that there are almost a five-digit number of reservations in Athens hotels for the days of the Coldplay concerts.

In the event of cancellation, even if ticket refunds were issued, people who had prepaid for accommodation could negotiate with the accommodation for flexible solutions, such as free cancellation or reservation transfer.

This would also result in a loss of tourism revenue, as airline tickets, which are difficult to cancel and are very expensive these days, are also part of the equation.

Cancellation or change of thousands of airline tickets would also be a major problem, and among other things, the fate of dozens of contracts with foreign companies that had undertaken the production would be at stake. Furthermore, a possible cancellation would irreparably expose the country and definitively remove it from the global tours of major music bands, putting it out of the concert map.

What’s happening now:

And while margins were desperately shrinking, the mobility observed in recent days leaves hope for the thousands of fans of the band.

More specifically, work has begun to remove the damaged polycarbonate panels, totaling 5,000 plexiglass pieces, from the Calatrava roof at the Olympic Stadium – where work continues until today at a steady pace – as part of addressing the stability problem that has kept the Stadium closed for almost five months, negatively affecting all sports and music events in Athens, resulting in the two major Coldplay concerts – and not only – scheduled for the summer being in jeopardy.

After the removal of the damaged polycarbonates, which is estimated to take about 3 months, and subject to the expert opinion approval from the TCG, the stadium’s operation is expected to resume, followed by necessary maintenance work.

This process is necessary following a study submitted to the Public Property Utilization Fund (PPUF) and with the confirmation of the Technical Chamber of Greece(TCG).

PPUF and the Technical Chamber of Greece have expedited the procedures, and it is expected that by the end of February or early March, the third expert opinion report from TCG will be submitted, which will focus on the stadium’s roof. At that time, the final decision will be made on whether it is safe to make the OAKA available for the 40 events scheduled for this summer.

Of course, the Coldplay concerts on June 8 and 9 are the ones that attract the most interest, as we are talking about 122,000 tickets that have been purchased, but it is not, of course, the only band; earlier, specifically on May 30, Rammstein will also come to sing after 14 whole years.